Resident Evil - Vapor Trails
by Eric VanDerBoom
Summary: Taking place after the stories of BGShepard. When Leon and Ada receive a call from an old friend, they stumble up upon a murderous mystery that may finally spell the end for the last remnants of horror in their lives. But when they're made to work with three agents who are more than what they seem, who knows how easy that will be?
1. Prologue

Prologue

If the glass container of poison across the wooden table could have feelings, it may have expressed discomfort at being on the receiving end of the thousand-yard stare.

That gaze of vague anger, mixed with disgust and resentment at how the tainted amber had ruined him from time to time, was being wielded like lightning by the eyes of Leon S. Kennedy. The man himself had fought through undead recipients of a biological agent that had transformed them into those zombies, a parasite that granted control to a single master at the cost of free will, the combination of those two - the parasite controlling the virus like an owner to its pet - and another infection that mimicked the first virus' effects, but with worse and more dangerous mutations.

By all accounts, it should've been easy for Leon to banish the alcohol on the table from his life. That's just what anyone else would say. The problem was, he'd seen it as a virus that had personally infected him.

After all the incidents that he'd survived through, as a way to deal with the horrors that toyed with his mind.

After the rage and tears that followed his bad breakups.

After losing a squad of military members under his leadership to another virus mutation.

In short, he had no one else to blame with what the drink had done for him but himself. But that didn't mean he had to take it lying down. Nor should he have had to in any way, shape, or form.

So why was it so hard to shake off of his back now?

Leon already knew the answer to that - old habits died hard, especially if they were in danger of becoming addictions, which he felt his affiliation with alcohol may have been at this point. Oh, who was he kidding? He _knew_ that was what it'd been. And all because it was just there. It had constantly been there as an outlet to express all the horrible feelings that had gone through his brain at every negative turn his path of life had taken.

And he realized, slowly but surely, that the drink had never been an outlet for his frustration, merely an ocean of poison to temporarily drown it and strengthen it at the same time. And now that he looked back at those past instances with 20/20 hindsight, he found himself rather ashamed and repulsed by how much he'd let it affect him and his sanity.

What made it even worse was that he'd been planning on using it to drown out the latent dark feelings that lingered in his thoughts after a nightmare he'd had earlier. It was always the same - dangling over the edge of the building on which the monstrous form of his boss was prepared to kick him off of, the flames and smoke billowing up toward the heavens around him...

But before he'd even unscrewed the lid of the bourbon bottle, something had stopped him, some inner instinct that turned his insides around, telling him that this was a bad idea to go through with. Thus, instead of letting he bourbon flow, he let it remain contained in the glass bottle instead.

For the last few hours.

His train of thought over all of this was brought to a rather abrupt halt by the smooth, teasing voice of the woman who'd come up to stand just beside his seated position.

"You know, you're not gonna win that staring contest. And last I checked, you're supposed to drink the bourbon."

An involuntary chuckle left Leon's throat at the words spoken by the lovely Asian American woman who'd joined him. For all the thing Ada Wong once was, the one thing she didn't lack was a sly sense of humor.

"I'm just trying to convince myself that I don't need it, Ada. But..." He trailed off, leaving the most obvious words unspoken.

"But it's what you're used to for dealing with the tougher times, Leon. I get it", Ada responded, her voice turning softer and sympathetic. "And I don't blame you for it - on the contrary, I think it's brave that you're trying to do this."

For the first time that morning, Leon turned to look into the almond eyes of his wife, able to discern the growing light in them through the shadows of her night-black hair and the first growing morning shadows outside their apartment. "Help me", he half-asked, half-stated, as if unsure how to go about saying that he needed it.

Ada definitely noticed the tone, her lips spreading in a playful smirk. "Like always", she whispered teasingly.

Then her voice grew more serious, yet supportive and bluntly honest. "Well, getting over something like this - it won't be easy, to say the least. It's a rough ride, and it's going to throw a few punches at you. There's going to be times where you'll feel like you're begging to get back to it because it's easier than staying away. But what you need to do is remember that you're better off without this" - pointing a finger at the bourbon- "in your life, especially in the capacity it is now. Plus, when that time's over, you'll come out better than you used to be. Just remember - you're not alone, Leon. And you're no less of a person than I see you as because of the drink. You need to work on letting the need for it go, one day at a time. And I'll always be here to help with that, however and whenever you need me to. I promise."

Leon didn't seem to want to move from his seated position, the only thing changing was the tautness of his posture - his whole body seeming to clench, his fists flexing.

Then he felt Ada's soft, warm hands gently grazing over the skin of his shoulders, and he felt the tension slowly start to melt away from his body as sure as she'd be feeling it through her slender fingers.

"You're still my hero, Leon Scott Kennedy. You wanting to do this only further confirms that for me. And you don't have to do this all alone - I'm always right here when you need me. Just remember that."

Then, without warning, Ada took Leon's hand and practically tugged him out of the chair, dragging him outside to the balcony, never breaking stride even as she grabbed the bourbon off of the table.

"You think you're ready to get started, hotshot?" Ada called over her shoulder as they grasped the railing of their balcony rail tightly, the city ablaze with lights alive meters below them. The city that never slept indeed.

"Because if you are, there's something I need you to do for me, Leon."

"What's that?" Leon asked heavily, his gaze expectant and piercing.

"Don't demand help from me, handsome. Ask me for it. Please."

At this, Leon's gaze traveled down to his clenched hands on the cold railing, picking up the beat of distant music - sounding energetic and inspiring. Of all things.

With a deep breath, he finally lifted his head up to look back up into Ada's almond eyes. "Will you help me, Ada? Please?" The last word left his lips, a hopeful whisper.

The smile that blazed onto her face at his words was all the answer he needed. Without another word, Ada pulled something out from behind her back and pressed it into Leon's palm, and he recognized the cold and silvery steel of his handgun, the added weight telling him that it was loaded and silenced. "But why...?"

He managed to take this in before she tossed the bourbon up into the air with a flourish, the glass container reflecting the city light's in random flashes. Reflexively, Leon raised the weapon and pulled back the trigger, a small _pop_ emanating from his gun before the bottle shattered with a cracking and tinkling of glass, hearing the bourbon splatter distantly onto a parked car below them.

Reflexively, Leon looked down over the railing to see what damage had been done, but all that had happened was the glass of the bottle tinkling down onto the empty street, a dark stain on the pavement where the alcohol had splashed and hit the ground.

"Impressive", Ada commended with a small nod. "But that's only the first step. It's going to be difficult, but that's why you have me", she finished, flourishing her arms before chuckling brightly, sounding like a giddy schoolgirl. Leon couldn't help but join in, letting himself relax in the knowledge.

No, fighting an addiction was never easy. Sometimes it would hurt. But Leon knew that as long as he kept hard at working on it, with help from those he loved, the odds would ultimately be in his favor.

"Thank you...so very much, Ada." Leon managed to whisper out, overtaken with emotion and his thoughts.

"Like I said, that's what I'm here for", she replied gratefully yet still teasingly. "Besides...if you're ready and able to take it, we've got another case coming to us. That might be a good first step."

That made Leon perk up, his interest piqued as he rejoined his lovely partner inside - ever since they'd started their security and investigation firm, the word had spread over their extended area of expertise and their uncanny ability to deliver 110% to their job. They'd covered everything from simple arming of security cameras on homes to searching for lost and kidnapped children, even working alongside New York's finest cops in cases. Leon himself was surprised to know that some of them recognized him for his hand in preventing another widespread virus outbreak that had started in New York.

That was then, and it had helped bring him to now. "What kind of case?"

"Oh, you know...missing children, murder mystery in an equally sinister house - more than the usual, but still more interesting", Ada replied honestly, her eyes locking onto Leon's with a mixture of concern, attention, and care. "Are you gonna be alright on working this one with me, Leon?"

It only took him a moment's thought - no matter what he had, Leon knew that he could handle dark matters such as these and still come out smelling like roses. He wouldn't let any condition he had prevent him from that - he'd been through worse and made it.

"I will be, honey", he just as honestly replied, an eager smile spreading to his lips. "Let's do this."


	2. Back in Black

The succeeding few hours of the morning found the sun higher in the New York sky, shining through the skylight in Ada Wong's office. The warmth soothed her if only a bit as she researched the elements of her and Leon's next case, standing before a desk that rose to the level of her and, on which rested a top-of-the-line supercomputer that looked like it belonged in a space shuttle, one that any billionaire would bend over backwards to buy. Right now, it showed a few open windows that concerned reports of a handful of missing kids and young adults, all girls and women, as well as a history of the one place those incidents had in common - a Gothic-styled mansion on the outskirts of a nearby small town, situated on a forest-covered peninsula.

Ada couldn't help but shake her head, her eyebrows furrowing and lip pursing in troubled concentration. Too much of it reminded her of what happened back twenty-plus years ago, the spark that lit the dynamite keg that was Raccoon City. The difference being that even Umbrella didn't use children as their test subjects before tossing them out like garbage. That aspect alone threw her back to memories of her abusive childhood, her father with his alcohol and beatings until...

Shaking her head again, bringing herself back to the present, Ada promised herself that she wouldn't let the past get the best of her - after all, it was the past. The present was here; she needed to be too.

"An old mansion with mysterious murders around it, I can't think why that sounds familiar."

Leon's gentle voice brought Ada to turn and look at him, a smile slowly spreading to her face as she saw him dressed in a casual dress shirt, slim stone-washed blue jeans, and the old leather jacket he'd worn back in Tall Oaks, fitting him as if it hadn't been dragged through Hell with him. She herself was already freshened up and dressed in a dark scarlet blouse, form-fitting skinny jeans, and black combat boots. Considering the way Leon looked at her, it was clearly paying off already.

"Yeah, except this time, the test subjects aren't the walking dead, but just dead", Ada replied, turning back to the computer screen. "Still, I suppose that's preferable."

"Fair point", Leon growled before standing beside her, leaning a hand on the desk. "What else is there to know about this place?"

"Let's see...aside from the murdered victims, there's also a few old ghost stories floating around this place. Apparently, this place was thought to be guarding some sort of secret to immortality, a modern fountain of youth of sorts, purportedly kept up by someone known only as 'the Countess'", Ada stated, turning to see Leon's face furrowed in disgust and sadness at the crimes.

"Kinda ironic, considering the people who went there weren't exactly given the royal treatment. Still..."

Ada turned back to the screen, scrutinizing the articles. "And these say that the victims were all found with a pint of blood drained from each of them, replaced with a dash of cyanide, and what looks like needle marks in their arms to match. A fair amount of blood was drained from each victim as well, but as to what caused that…" Ada trailed off, a shudder in her voice.

Leon let out a hollow huff of breath, a sarcastic chuckle combined with it. "The blood of kids to fuel the fountain of youth. Makes perfect sense."

"It gets worse than that though", Ada replied sadly. "You remember that last client we had, Michael?"

"The hotshot ginger who moved back here from Japan with his wife to match after the show he was on over there ended? Yeah, why?"

"Well...the most recent victim was their daughter, Elza. The news just hit the town's local paper today", Ada reported, a grim note in her dulcet tones.

At this, Leon ran a frustrated hand through his blond hair, exposing the few salt-grey locks that were cropping up beneath the cornhusk mane, his true age showing even further through his sigh. "God...as if this mystery couldn't get any worse."

As if to answer them both, a blaring guitar riff faded up from Leon's pocket. Digging into it, he pulled out his smartphone and tapped the screen. "Hello? ...Yeah, I heard. I'm so sorry, Mikey. Oh, the police want us there too? ...Yeah, we'll be on our way."

Then he turned back to Ada. "Apparently, both Mike and the cops want us over there helping out with this."

"Well, then we don't have any time left to lose, so we?" Shutting the computer down to rest, Ada started to leave the desk for the nearby weapons cabinet that contained her and Leon's sidearms, an H&K VP70 for her and Leon's Grey Ghost handgun. "Well, let's see how the water tastes, I suppose", Ada sardonically stated.

She handed the Grey Ghost to Leon before striding past him, leaving him to watch Ada's luxuriously feminine form saunter away.

"Damn, those pants are tight. How'd you get into those anyway?"

The sly grin from Ada was matched by her dangling a familiar set of keys on her finger - the keys to Leon's dark blue Impala that shed helped him reclaim shortly after they'd established their business. She'd jacked them from Leon's pocket.

"When we're done with this case, I'll show you how, handsome", Ada promised, tossing the keys back to him. "Ready?"

Leon held her gaze as he slung an arm around her waist, holding her close as she held him around his back. "With you beside me and watching my back? Always."

The next couple of hours found them on the road, the rumble of the Impala's engine vibrating comfortably throughout the entire frame. Yet Leon's gaze never wavered from the road as they traveled to their destination, now only a few hours away.

Throughout his whole life, Leon Scott Kennedy was brought up with a strong sense of justice and morality. This, combined with an aversion to see anyone else go through the same kind of pain he now had on his shoulders, a calm demeanor in the face of danger, and a snarky sense of sarcastic humor, helped give him a fair amount of ballast in his life. He knew in his case, what he now had in his mental wiring was mild at best and was very specifically sparked up. But he also knew how serious it could get when it did flare up - one more thing for him to keep track of.

Still, with his rather quieter occupation of security consultant and detective, Leon could console himself with the knowledge that this job wasn't as risky as his prior occupation, just risky enough.

That, and having Ada with him would make all the difference in the world. If there was anything that he needed now, especially considering most of his friends thought he was dead - Ada's last mission tracking down the source of a clone of him along with bio-organic weapons made sure of that - Leon needed that valuable support.

And when they finally pulled up to the mansion on the outskirts of the small New York town of Delucia, the house itself surrounded by cops and witnesses, the reassurance that that support was there came up immediately.

"You ok?" Ada asked.

"All things considered", Leon nodded, looking over at her. "You?"

"All things considered", she repeated, punctuating it with a kiss to his cheek before they stepped out of the car, Leon locking it before they walked over to the yellow security tape barring the crime scene.

The first cop they saw, a tall and bulky dark-haired man, turned to them upon noticing they were approaching. "You two must be from Kennedy Investigations, right?" he inquired in a quiet, deep voice.

"That's us, Officer Roth", Leon stated, noticing the name tag while shaking the cop's hand before the cop did the same with Ada's. "So what exactly is going on here?"

"Right now, some of our squad is looking around the place to see if there are any more vic's aside from the one kid we heard about from Mr. Simon. There's also a few federal agents here aiding the investigation - that's been a big help. They're talking to Mr. Simon right now."

"Federal agents, you say?" Ada asked, rather perplexedly. "Who contacted them?"

"We're not sure, but at this point..." The officer shrugged lightly, letting the sentence trail off.

It was then that Ada noticed a darkly inquisitive squint in Leon's eyes as they locked onto the three suits talking to Leon's friend. One of them had long brown hair trailing down to just above his shoulders and curtaining his scruffy face, the other a blond crew cut above a strong-set expression, and the third with a mild face set below a crop of raven hair and a trenchcoat covering his dark suit.

"You think there's something off about them, honey?" Ada asked.

"It certainly seems that way...I just can't put my finger on what", Leon answered.

The weirdest facet then sprung up clearly in Leon's mind - they'd never heard any more news about those federal agents since that first bit about them coming into town, and the police stayed in constant contact with him and Ada about everything.

One way or another, something was definitely very wrong.


	3. Double Agent

Nodding lightly, Ada started making her way over to the four men with Leon following a step behind her. As they got closer, Ada could feel something off about the three supposed agents as well. Yet she needed a closer inspection to figure out exactly what. Thus, Ada let Leon step ahead of her to talk to Mikey while she took a closer look at the three men - all dressed sharply enough, professional posture and demeanor, and yet...

"Mikey?"

Leon's uttering of his friend's name made Ada turn her gaze to the two, while still managing to keep the other three men in her peripheral vision. As it was, Mikey himself didn't look good - his eyes bloodshot, his ginger hair messy, scraggly five o'clock shadow across his face, his clothes looking freshly slept in.

"Leon", Mikey replied, giving Leon a tight hug that he promptly returned. "God...it's horrible...I can't believe.."

"I know, buddy, I know. That's why we're here", Leon replies. "I just wish we could do more for you, that's all."

Letting out a light sigh, Mikey managed to say, "Just make sure you find the people who did this and put them away. That's all I ask, Leon."

"We will. I promise."

It was then that Ada noticed one of the agents, the blond man, glancing over at her with a familiar glint of desire in his eyes, one that she'd seen many times from many other men in the past. And the Ada of old would've taken delight in teasing him and making him think he had a chance.

But Ada also knew that those days were behind her, as she raised a hand - the hand bearing her gilded butterfly wing given to her by Leon - to brush away her ebony bangs. Immediately, the agent let his gaze fall back to Leon and Mikey, even as his longer-haired counterpart stepped toward them.

"Listen, Mr. Simon?" The man said, his voice deep, yet soft. "We appreciate you taking the time to help us. We're really sorry about your daughter as well - rest assured, we'll find out what did this."

"I hope so", Mikey replied, "but I'm also putting my trust in these two as well. Leon's been my friend for a long time, and he's never been one to stray from helping those in need, right?"

But before Leon could even speak, the blond agent piped up, his voice a light growl with a touch of condescension, "That's nice, but we can handle this by ourselves, ok?"

Her head cocked at the agent's attitude, Ada couldn't help but feel more strongly that something seemed wrong with these three. No matter what kind of help someone like federal agents got, as long as it was professional, they usually accepted it as long as the authority was right. All she could think was how these guys didn't know about them yet. But they'd been around long enough and solved enough cases for their half of New York State to know them well, even this peninsula. So how...?

"That's a shame, considering he hired us", Leon stated, flashing his professional ID at them. "Leon Kennedy, Kennedy Investigations. And who are you guys?"

The agents responded by flashing their ID's, the trenchcoated man checking his to see if it was facing right before doing so. "Agents Lee, Lifeson, and Peart, FBI", the blond man stated authoritatively.

Ada barely managed to get a clear glimpse of their badges and IDs before they were promptly slapped shut and put away, even as Leon let out an involuntary chuckle.

"There something funny here, ah, Kennedy?"

"Nothing. I just wondered why I felt a weird rush when I got here", Leon cracked.

"Well, just make sure not to let that feeling go to your...head", the blond agent fired back, flicking his gaze toward Ada.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, considering your last name..."

The trenchcoated man began to step between them, his voice a thinner and lighter growl as he turned to his blond friend. "Agent Lee. Relax. They're here to investigate what's going on here, just as we are. Arguing about this won't get us anywhere."

Ada nodded quietly, looking over at Leon. "He's right - this childish attitude will only make things worse. We'll get this figured out later tonight, alright, Leon? Just relax, and let's just see what they can do. Ok?"

Leon let out a deep breath in a sigh before finally answering, "Alright...we shouldn't be arguing about this here. You're right."

"I know I am, handsome", Ada smartly fired back, a cheeky grin on her face. "That's why we listen to each other."

Leon playfully rolled his eyes before matching eyes with the tallest of the three, the brunette-haired agent - 'Agent Lifeson', Leon figured. For some reason, there was something familiar about this man. Very familiar.

"So...what exactly do you guys have so far?"

"Not much at this point, I must say", Lifeson replied. "A couple of strange puncture marks in each kid's arm, all of them dead. As to the cause, we're still debating about that."

"That's what we're still trying to figure out as well", Ada replied, "Have you heard about the ghost stories surrounding this place, agents?"

"You mean, the whole fountain-of-youth story, vampires and other demons of sorts guarding this place?" Lee clarified. "Yeah, we've heard about those...we tend to take them seriously in our line of work."

"But why take simple ghost stories so seriously in this case?" Ada asked, keeping her interrogative interest veiled. Leon was right - there was something strange about these two. Nothing evil, but…off.

"Most of them are usually based from some root of fact, and they rarely start up without reason as well", Lifeson replied. "Sometimes it feels like we're constantly chasing ghost stories, and whenever we solve one, another seems to crop right up."

Ada's eyebrows wrinkled - what the hell did that mean? Storing the moment in her head, she responded, "Maybe if we found how these stories started, we'll find out who - or what - has been killing these kids, and why."

Leon nodded lightly in agreement as he stated sardonically, "Seems like a regular vacation for us. All that's missing is the red wine and the beach."

The trenchcoat-clad agent - Agent Peart - turned over to them, a sternly perplexed expression on his face. "In what way is this considered a vacation for you?"

"Just being sarcastic, Agent", Leon states softly. "Plus, considering what we've been through" - signaling to Ada, wrapping an arm around her waist - "this should be an easy enough case to solve."

"And what exactly have you been through?" Agent Peart asked, his steel-blue eyes squinting slightly with curiosity.

They hesitated for only a minute before Leon finally answered, "Well...Raccoon City, for one thing."

The reaction among the agents was immediate - Lifeson's eyes widening, Lee letting out a low whistle, and Peart gravely nodding.

"Raccoon City, you said?" The brunette finally managed to ask. "Huh...weird."

"What's weird?" Ada inquired.

"Nothing, it's just...I remember someone telling me about their experiences in Raccoon City a while back", the brunette answered, before turning his gaze back to Leon. "Looked a lot like you actually. And that name, Kennedy, really rings a bell."

"You sure you don't mean 'bangs a gong'?" Agent Lee cracked, to which Lifeson only rolled his eyes.

Ignoring him, Leon responded cautiously, "I'm not quite sure...but I definitely get that vibe myself. Then again, maybe we just have that type of face."

Agent Lifeson pondered this for a minute before nodding lightly, letting the matter go for now. "Yeah, I suppose that's fair. Still though..."

"I know, that feeling. Plus, apparently Kennedy's a popular name." Then he turned to the blond, his eyes sparkling humorously as he turned to face Lee. "Isn't that right, Cinderella Man?"

"Ah...what?" Agent Lee stared at Leon, while Lifeson tried not to laugh and Peart looked at them both with a "what the hell?" look.

"Men and their egos", Ada muttered, shaking her head before focusing her gaze on the mansion in the background. There was something familiarly foreboding about it, almost as if...

Spencer Mansion. Arklay Mountains.

The thoughts came into Ada's head and refused to leave - she couldn't shake the vibe off of her, as she was strongly reminded of the decrepit old mansion back in the mountains surrounding Raccoon City. A mansion that had housed a complex of secret laboratories directly below it, where evil men had experimented with the bio-organic weapons and viral agents that had shaped her life, and Leon's after her.

And yet, something about this mansion made the feeling worse. It was as if this place threatened to suck out the very souls of those who dared to enter. And if they came back out...

"Ada?"

At the sound of her name, Ada turned to see Leon looking at her with concern, the other three agents glancing after them.

"I was just saying that maybe we ought to figure out how to investigate this? Maybe research the past incidents further to get a better angle?"

It took Ada a minute to shake off the foreboding feeling long enough to answer, "Maybe. You think there might be something we missed?"

"It's possible. Plus..."

"What?"

Leon took a look back at the three agents before responding to his wife, "You get the feeling that there's more to this place than just these murders? Like they're a part of something even bigger than just being random murders?"

Taking a look back at the darkly looming mansion, Ada let the initial shock of Leon's question dissipate - of course he'd feel the same way she would about this. "Now that you mention it, yes", she stated, making her way back over to the men.

"You guys didn't investigate these incidents before we came here?"

"We came here straight from another case, so we didn't have the time", Peart responded, a tone of mild annoyance in his quiet growl. "We'd only just heard about it from the paper of the town we were at, and the stories about this place from one of the cops."

"A regular bunch of ghost riders, huh?" Leon quipped.

At this, both Ada and Lee gave the former DSO a look reserved for the desperately insane, which Leon met with a shrug and a raised eyebrow before he continued, "Anyway. Maybe we should split up and head back to dig up some more information about what's been going on? Maybe there's something we missed here."

"Yeah, maybe", Lifeson agreed with a light shake of his brown mane. "Plus, there's not really much to go on as far as now goes. Do we even know who owns this place?"

"Well, it's a crazy house. Maybe it belongs to this guy", Lee answered, raising a pointed finger at Leon.

"And you're pointing a finger at me because...?" Leon asked.

"Because you've been acting weird ever since we got here", Lee fires back, getting into Leon's face. Even if he had to look up into it a bit. "All these weird names and that tough-guy swagger - what do you know that we don't?"

The tension became so thick that it blanketed everyone - Lifeson and Peart looking as wary as was possible, Ada with her arm braced back to possibly reach for her gun.

It snapped apart like a whip when Leon responded, "That you should probably get that whiskey breath away from my mug and back down, Dirk?"

Lifeson and Ada couldn't help but let out an involuntary snicker, Peart's eyes squinting as a smile flickered at the corner of his mouth.

"And the weird nicknames too - what the hell?"

"Boys", Ada insistently cut in, placing a hand on the chests of the two men and pushing them apart. "Let's save the dick-measuring for later, after we've figured out everything that's been going on with these murders and this place, huh?"

Raising his arms in surrender, Leon took a step back and let out a breath, cracking his neck as he did so.

"I mean, I know whose I already have - the same that I'd rather prefer - but still", Ada finished with a wink before whispering to Leon, "Seriously, what are you doing though?"

"I'll let you know when we get home", Leon responded just as quietly, flashing one last nod at the trio of agents. "Meet back here later then?"

Lifeson managed to flick Leon a card with their info on it before they got too far apart, the latter catching it deftly. "Let ya know if you find anything else and when you're getting back here. We'd appreciate it."

"Will do", Ada stated with a twinkling look and a light nod. "Agents."

"Dicks", Lee returned, only a tone of half-begrudging there.

Leon and Ada turned their backs fully to the agents and made their way to their own cobalt-blue Impala, the small number of drying fallen leaves crunching beneath their boots. They managed to maintain the silence between them right until the doors of the car creaked open and they sat inside, feeling the gentle warmth of the car's interior.

"Ok, seriously, honey. What the hell _was_ that all about?" Ada inquired as Leon started up the car and started them on the trip back to their place.

If they had looked closer through a nearby copse of trees, they would have noticed another familiar-looking Impala, this one a shade of jet black that masked a few small dents and dings well, and bearing Ohio license plates.


	4. Break In

It was nearly dark when they finally managed to get back to their apartment complex, Leon deciding to park on the curb outside the place.

"You're telling me that nothing about those agents seemed off to you at all?" Leon inquired of his wife as they both exited the car.  
"Now, I'm not saying that…I'm just wondering what tipped you off about them, that's all", Ada rectified. "For me, it was the fact that their professionalism left a lot to be desired - it wasn't as usually extreme as it would be with legitimate agents." She gave Leon a light nod and a winning smile as he held the door to the apartment building open for her. "That, and when's the last time an FBI agent wore a suit to a suburban crime scene?"

"You've got a point there", Leon acquiesced. "Surprisingly, agents usually wear stuff that helps them blend in with the people around them, depending where they are."  
"Which would mean that they'd be new, except the FBI usually doesn't allow new guys to have their hair down to their shoulders or a week's worth of scruff", Ada continued. Shaking her head lightly as they ascended the stairs to their place, she furrowed her brow in further concentration, reflecting on the day's prior events.  
"Maybe they were involved in the murders somehow?"  
"That wouldn't make sense either", Ada answered in response to Leon's theory. "Whoever those guys were, they were genuinely concerned for the people affected by these murders. Though they'd also seen this before, I'm sure. Body language gives away a lot."  
"Well, what we do know is they're impersonating feds and are now involved in this case. But why?" Leon asked, running his fingers absentmindedly through the curtains of his blond hair, showing the few streaks of silver beginning to crop up. "And why such obvious aliases too?"  
"What do you mean?"  
Leon turned to Ada as they made it to the door of their place. "Lee, Lifeson, and Peart - those are the names of the guys who make up the rock band Rush", Leon clarified, unlocking the door before letting Ada inside their place before following. "One of my favorite bands, actually."

"Oh, Lord...my husband's a rocker", Ada mock-groaned.

"Only with my music, and with you in bed, baby", Leon replied with a sly wink, earning him a playful eye-roll from Ada. "But if they've been doing this for a while and using names of famous rock stars, I'm surprised they haven't been caught by this point."  
"How do you know they haven't been? That'd be like me using the name 'Mata Hari' as a constant alias", she cracked in response. This got Ada a barely-restrained chuckle from Leon, before he replied "Or maybe us using John Lennon and Yoko Ono as aliases?"

At that, Ada raised her head with a shocked expression which slowly melted to a smooth, throaty chuckle. "Actually, that was pretty smart."

"I have my moments."

"Still, we would easily end up caught with those kinds of aliases!"

"And how do I know you haven't been?" Leon retorted.

"Let me put it this way, handsome", Ada replied, talking over her shoulder as Leon followed her to their futuristically sleek computer system. "There have been many men, and even a few women, who have tried to catch me. Out of all of them, you're the only one who's succeeded, and it's only because I let ya", she finished with a sly wink.

"I seem to remember that you caught me before that though."

"And now, you've got me there", she said, relenting.

They made their way over to the computer, Leon standing just behind and to Ada's left as she booted up the system and navigated through the information she had open. With her foot tapping and her face furrowed in concentration, she scanned through the different files and articles she had open - everything from the history of the murder string, the background of the estate where the murders happened and its location, and anything she could find on its mysterious current owner.

So mysterious, there was only a passing reference to said owner, who was only referred to as the Countess.

Then something in one of the articles caught her eye.

"Of course that'd be the case."

"What's up?" Leon asked.

"Well, turns out the estate where these murders are happening, before being owned by this Countess person, used to be leased out to Umbrella Inc. before they were forcefully shut down. Yet with all the research they purportedly did there, nothing of any substantial note came from there. "

That made both their eyebrows raise up in surprise. Leon locked his gaze with Ada's to confirm that, yes, she thought that was suspicious too. "Which means that either whatever they were conducting experiments on failed..."

"...or somehow, they found a way to keep experimenting on it until they succeeded", Ada finished. "Perhaps even saved what results they had until the time they thought was right."

"Well...no matter what way you slice it, why would they need people ranging specifically from kids to younger adults?"

"I don't know", Ada replied, shaking her head gently with a sigh. "But we've got to find out. Otherwise, whatever's going on at that place might end up getting out and kill more than just those vic's."

As he scanned along the opened files with her, Leon's mind couldn't help but flash to the dark sight of the murders - the sight of his friend's kid being carried out on a stretcher, his friend disheveled and drained, the foreboding shadow of the mansion, the way the sun seemed to dance over it like curtains of fire...

Shaking his head lightly to shrug off the darkness that came with that last thought, Leon turned his head back to face the screen of Ada's computer. Yet as he did so, he felt something soft and warm flash across his cheek.

"You had that look on your face again", Ada pointed out, her lips warm from henpeck she gave to Leon's cheek. "You alright, handsome?"

Managing a shuddering nod, Leon finally managed to get the clarifying words out. "Just some unwanted flashbacks, is all. Nothing too serious right now, love."

"You sure?"

"Positive", he affirmed to Ada's double-check.

But he couldn't just leave it at that around her - he still had doubts about just how alright he was. "It's just...I'm afraid."

"About what?" Ada completely turned away from the computer, keeping her gaze stoically locked on Leon's.

"That I might end up having a breakdown out there on the job...that this mission to hopefully bring down Umbrella will take me with it in a way...I promised myself that I'd scrub the rest of what Umbrella did off the face of the Earth, but..."

"You don't know if you can still keep that promise?"

Leon looked at his wife with an even greater sense of respect - she understood, more than anyone, what was going on with him.

Ever since he found out what he'd picked up after the last major incident he was caught in, a peak within nearly twenty years of putting his life on the line, he'd also been shocked to discover that his was a stronger psyche - aside from any recreation of the incident that pressed the PTSD onto him, he'd be able to work through and with what he had, such as it were. At least, that's what Leon's therapist told him - he himself really knew that his therapist meant for him to find a way to live the best "rest of his life" and reconcile the fact that what he had would be figuratively riding in the backseat of his brain.

Thankfully, Leon also knew that he'd be ready to admit when that disorder full-on reared its ugly head, and both Ada and he trusted himself to keep following through.

It wouldn't stop his wife from being concerned for him though.

"Well...if you're that concerned about it, would you want me to take this job solo? You know you don't have to do this, Leon", Ada reassured him.

"I know, and I'm not trying to say you can't do it yourself either—"

"Oh, I hope not", she lightly teased, before her tone grew serious and concerned again. "But this doesn't necessarily mean you're letting go of that promise, as noble and just as it is. There's just different ways to help do that, and besides, I don't want to see you getting yourself into something you can't get out of, that's all."

Letting out a sigh as he rubbed his eyes, Leon also knew that he would never be one to just cheer from the sidelines on this matter. Above all else, he had to be on the front lines himself, and as long as things didn't go pear shaped enough to leave him hanging by his fingernails, he figured he'd be ok.

Plus, it wasn't the Zombies and the bioweapons that gave him those nightmares. But one of the men who'd created them in the first place...

Leon let out a breath and met Ada's gaze again, rock-steady, his ocean gaze blazing. "As afraid as I am...I'm not going to let what I have get in the way of what we do, Ada. I'd rather be out there, bring this last little piece of Umbrella down with you."

Ada nodded respectfully, a gentle smile decorating her face. "Still as brave as always, handsome. But just remember to let me know if it does turn serious, ok? I know how tough you are, but you don't have to work and power through everything, and certainly not by yourself, Leon."

That variation of what he once told Ada many years ago brought those memories back to Leon, making him chuckle as he embraced Ada from behind. "Where've I heard that before?"

"Don't I wonder?" Ada chuckled, leaning her head against Leon's as she continued to read through the research she was doing.

Letting out a breath to steady himself, Leon slowly pulled his cell phone out from his pocket. "I guess that means we should let those agents know what's going on tonight", he relented with a sigh, digging out the card Agent Lifeson had given them and dialing the number printed on it.

"Lifeson", the voice responded halfway through the first ring.

"Hey, Agent, this is Kennedy. I think we may have found something else that might help the case."

"Alright, well, what do you have, detective?"

Shuffling sounds in the background told Leon that the other two agents were listening as well, much like Ada was now.

"My wife's found information that links the mansion back to Umbrella, but apparently nothing substantial came from that place at any point."

"How exactly will that help us, detective?" Lifeson inquired.

Ada, gently taking the phone from Leon's hand and holding it to her ear, replied, "In our experience, every Umbrella location we've been through has ended up developing something dangerous, and since this place hasn't done that, either they've found what they wanted to and haven't let it out yet, or they're still experimenting to find that out."

"And considering all of the murders have been on the grounds of this mysterious damn place, our guess leans more toward the latter."

Now Lifeson seemed to understand how much weight that revelation could possibly carry. "Which means that if we don't get on this ASAP, there could be more kids murdered, or worse."

"Exactly."

"Alright. Give us 20 minutes, and meet us back over at the mansion."

"Roger that", Leon affirmed right before the agent clicked off the call.

Both Leon and Ada kept their gaze on his phone before they finally looked up at each other evenly.

"Ready for this, Leon?"

Keeping his gaze locked on the almond eyes of his lovely wife, Leon slowly lifted his arms to wrap around her back after he slipped his phone away in his pocket. Another case, another day in the figurative trenches. Could he really handle it?

The woman he loved, holding him closely in return, held the answer. Even if he were to end up stumbling somehow - which would even be hard to do on his own - Leon knew that he had Ada watching his back.

Even after all these years.

"As long as you're with me, dear", Leon finally answered.

Ada smiles encouragingly up at him, replying soothingly, "It's gonna be rough and it'll get dangerous, but I promise. No matter what, I've got your back, handsome."

"As I've got yours, honey. And that", Leon pleasantly sighed, "is all I need."


	5. Interlude I: The Enemy Within

Interlude - The Enemy Within

All she needed was one hint, a taste of success.

Poring over the samples of raw virus chilling in the specialized containers, the ethereal-looking scarlet-haired woman seemed to glide along the floor as she investigated the samples nestled before her eyes. With the experiments she was conducting down here, the last thing she needed was for any slight bit of noise to distract her.

Then again, Dr. Maven Storm was used to being quiet.

She constantly joked to herself that ever since the company she worked under went belly-up back in 2003, she was the brain cell left behind that was responsible for the death spasms. She always kept to herself, conducted her experiments quietly in the background, always got commended for her efforts. Yet somewhere down the line, whatever the company stood for seemed to be lost on a fair few of its employees. She'd been under the reasoning that the viral agent, which had spelled her employer's doom all those years ago, would have been used as the ultimate cure-all once it had been finalized. Instead...

The result was why Dr. Storm still labored in a one-woman effort down in these labs - she felt as though she had to clean up the last, most prominent mess the now-defunct company left behind in its wake. Everything else that came after - her coworkers dealing the stuff on the black market, the labs shutting down worldwide, even the company starting anew just a scant few years prior - mattered not to her.

All that mattered centered in the forefront of Dr. Storm's mind as she double-checked the readings of the virus as it attempted to bond with the blood sample she'd retrieved earlier today. She hated what she had to do to retrieve it, or why she still pushed herself to use it in the first place.

And yet, there could've been so many worse ways in her mind.

With that thought, she focused back on her work. The serum she'd been attempting to make for the longest time as of late - the last few months, certainly enough - needed to be perfect if it was going to do what she hoped it would.

Ever since the T-virus had originally been created, Dr. Storm had seen and heard of it used for creating all sorts of bio-organic weapons, yet never working directly on humans. Ever since the last of those stories, the one of the Tyrant in Raccoon City, shed wondered what would happen if it could work directly on a human being without turning them into a zombie, or even a Tyrant with further experimentation .

"That's still something I've not yet attempted before", she whispered to herself, her light and smooth voice the only human sound in the lab.

Well, if you didn't count the barely-audible breathing through the body-sized canisters. And there wasn't much of that left.

Ever since the experiments had started back up, she'd found out that the blood of young adults would suit those experiments best - it was the strongest and most resilient, best suited to bond with the viral agent she was attempting to perfect. The problem was finding the right type and subtype, along with the proper composition.

That was the reason why a few of the test subjects had become the murder victims so talked about lately - they'd been drained of enough blood to pale their skin, only for it to be found as unsuitable and their owners to die afterwards. The best that the Doctor Storm was able to do was administer enough of a dose of cyanide to make it look like the subjects died from that, and left them at the base of the house's front porch.

If they only knew who the Countess really was...

Still, from the examples her line of work gave her, one thing remained clear enough to her - to create new life, one had to sacrifice parts of the old life.

And no matter what, Doctor Storm would accomplish what her original employers had initially failed to do - succeed in their business.

And that business...was nothing short of life itself.

* * *

 **A/N: I apologize for this next story part being so short, guys - I've had a lot going on in my life, and I've only recently been able to find some semblance of balance - personal and work lives clashing, along with my own mental wiring. Don't worry though - I'm getting this story back on track, and next will be a regular chapter detailing Leon and Ada's first travels into the mysterious mansion, and their next encounter with the FBI agents...if that's what they really are, of course.**

 **For now, I hope you enjoy this first interlude covering the first we'll see of Dr. Storm. There's going to be more of her as well...**

 **-Eric**


	6. Night Prowler

This time, it was Ada who drove the Chevelle.

As Leon kept a lookout from the passenger's side of the car, his Grey Ghost reassuringly heavy in his hand, he took one slight moment to ground himself and took a deep breath of the early fall air. It came coolly into his nostrils with the scent of oak and pine, and he let the breath out with a sigh.

Through it all, he kept his blue eyes focused, seeing nothing unusual. Yet.

"You alright over there?"

Leon turned to see Ada sparing a glance at him, her almond eyes alight with mild concern, her stance relaxed as she drove the Chevy with effortless ease.

"Better now, dear", he replied with a wink. "I've just been thinking..."

"About?"

"Everything that's led up to tonight...the murders, those victims left on the doorstep, the whole mystery around them...and now, what we know about this place..."

Ada let out a nod, her expression somber as she registered everything that Leon had brought up. Then she spoke aloud the hope that he must've been feeling. "You think this might finally be the end? Of fighting whatever Umbrella's come up with over all these years?"

"I'm at least hoping so. I just wish we could've done something before all those people died from...whatever we'll find there", Leon sighed.

With a somber nod, Ada placed what she hoped was a reassuring hand on Leon's thigh. "I know, Leon...and as much as it hurts to say, there's nothing we can do for them now. But at least we'll be able to stop whatever or whoever this is from hurting anyone else."

"Fair point", he acquiesced, placing his hand over hers. "And if this does turn out to be the last round...what are we gonna do with ourselves? I don't think we'll have any idea!" he finished with a chuckle.

"Oh, I don't know about that", she replied, her tone playful enough to match her gaze. "I'm sure we'll figure something out."

That gaze, however, quickly turned wide with alert as she spied something gleaming in the glare of the Chevelle's headlights. And they were coming down on it fast.

"Hang on!"

Leon reached for the inside door handle and the handle above as Ada sent the car into a sharp turn just before the last actual bend in the road, sending the Chevelle into the ditch as something thumped against one of the sidewalls.

He managed to catch a glimpse of metal spikes glimmering before the Chevelle shot back out from the ditch, Ada suddenly halting the car just in front of the mansion's front step.

The pair let out a breath that was less shaky than they would've expected, Leon letting go of the handles. "What was that?"

"Spike strip", Ada answered as she killed the engine, looking behind her - the metallic deathtrap had been slung into the ditch thanks to Ada's quick thinking. "Someone's expecting us, it seems."

"You think it's this Countess we've been hearing so much about?"

"Maybe...or our killer, if they're not the same person."

"Maybe", Leon breathed, opening the door to step out. "But we're not gonna find out standing here. You ready?"

"As ready as you are", Ada gamely replied, drawing her sidearm and tossing Leon a flashlight. She slammed the car door shut, and together, the couple started toward the front door of the old estate, their flashlights catching the intricate woodwork of the door—

—-and the edge of something metallic, just barely beyond the edge of the light's beam.

"What the...?" Leon shone his flashlight over to the metallic object, discovering it was...

"Must be the agents' car. But...hang on..." Leon moved in to get a closer look, recognizing it as a '67 Chevy Impala. There was something about the car, though - the placement of the few dents and scratches betraying its otherwise well-maintained look, the Ohio license plate, the paint job a shade of black darker than the night - that was ringing some serious bells.

"You alright, handsome?"

"Yeah, it's just...I feel I should know this car from somewhere. I think I ran across the driver of it once. Or was it the driver's brother?"

"Maybe one of the agents, if this is their ride?"

"Maybe", Leon shrugged, "but I've never heard of FBI agents driving a car like this. Plus, I don't think the guys who own it really are agents anyway..."

This drew some concern and suspicion in Ada, but not on Leon's part - there was always the possibility the car could've been sold off, but why indeed would FBI agents drive so conspicuous a car? And if it still belonged to the previous owners, judging from Leon's memory, that only meant they were lying about being FBI agents.

"Well, whoever they are, there's gotta be a reason for them being here. Though why they'd do something like this..." Ada trailed off, the lack of reasoning evident. "Come on, we should head inside. They'll be expecting us."

Nodding lightly, Leon straightened up and moved to the front doors, Ada joining him. They glanced at each other with another nod and quickly swung open the intricately carved doors, sweeping their pistols across the dark and empty hallway, their flashlight beams revealing a dark green carpet across the floor and a series of portraits lining the walls.

"Clear", Ada breathed, and they closed the doors behind them, keeping their backs against the wood. The hallway spread out before them, empty but for pregnant silence.

The couple raised their weapons and lit flashlights, slowly treading across the carpeted floor, their senses on overdrive.

Leon's whisper came out in a husky rumble. "This suspense is terrible."

"Forget you could hear anything for a minute there?" Ada playfully fired back, a quietly throaty purr that floated through the air.

"I couldn't help it, this is too creepy."

"As opposed to everything else?"

"I'm just used to expecting a zombie lurching around a corner, I suppose."

They approached a door just around the corner, and Leon covered Ada as she flung the door open and directed the flashlight to reveal a fancifully-decorated sitting room, gold-painted gilded chairs with jade cushions sitting atop a similarly-colored carpet floor, surrounded by shelves packed with books.

Once she made sure Leon had passed safely behind her inside the room, Ada firmly shut the door behind them. "That's probably one of the things that wouldn't surprise me either, come to think of it."

"We're far past normal, honey", Leon laughed with a shake of his head. "And now, look at us."

"True enough", Ada replied. "All of those missions and biohazards must've driven us crazy."

"Ha, maybe. Or maybe we just know that still fighting these threats is better than letting them ignite."

"Yeah, a spy and a dead man against the world - what are the odds?" Ada asked sardonically.

"Dead only to the rest of the world. Maybe we should fix that someday?"

"Maybe, but—" Ada sharply curtailed herself off, cocking an ear in the direction of the door—

—just as they heard a series of footsteps coming their way.

Keeping their steps light and clicking off their flashlights, Leon and Ada bolted to the end of the room on either side of the door, keeping to the shadowy corners of the wall just behind where the door opened into the rest of the main body of the house. As they kept their breathing quiet, they heard a mixture of voices approaching - one deep and gruff, the other smoother and soft, the third flat and authoritative, all quiet.

But not quiet enough.

Out of his peripheral vision, Leon saw the shadowy form of his wife slowly inching back along the wall of the room, away from the door so it wouldn't hit her, just as three man-sized forms burst the door open and stepped in front of her, then past. Realizing her plan, Leon stepped in front of them, pulling the slide of his gun back loud enough for them both to hear.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you", Ada's voice rang out, authoritatively, as the three men tried reaching behind them for what had to be their own weapons. This was met by Ada readying her own gun and clicking off the safety.

Leon felt one of the forms reach out for him, and he leaned away on his back leg and forcefully pushed the man back into the shapes of his two comrades, barely hearing the door slam shut.

One of them, the man Leon shoved, spoke up - the deeply gruff voice. "Okay, you dicks, I'm only gonna—"

"Dean." This from the flat authoritative voice. "Now's not the time."

"Just who are you guys anyway?" Leon inquired.

The gruff voice again. "Detective, it's us...the feds you spoke to earlier today. You could—"

"Stop with the bullshit. Why are you impersonating FBI agents, and why are here scoping this place out?" Leon demanded of them.

"Same thing you are - we're looking at all the murders happening here, trying to find out why, what the cause is", the softer voice replied back.

"Son of a bitch...Sammy..." the gravelly voice muttered.

"But pretending to be feds to investigate it? What's the point in that? Why's it necessary?" Ada countered. "Or did you want to get arrested for that along with breaking and entering?"

A few sounds of scuffling broke out, followed by the thuds of a well-aimed food finding its mark and one of the forms crumpling hard to the carpeted floor - Ada had kicked one of the would-be agents to the floor. The surprised grunt of pain was enough of an indicator.

"Alright, I say we get a good look at you three", Leon said, clicking his flashlight back on.

But who they revealed set the rapidly turning gears in his head to a halt.

The first person he saw was "Lee" - short blond hair, chiseled face, now dressed in a field jacket, flannel, and blue jeans. His arms were crossed across his gut where Ada had landed her kick, his eyes sparking with grudging respect and barely withheld anger.

Moving his flashlight up, he turned the beam to "Peart" - still in his trenchcoat and suit, his icy blue eyes barely squinting from the light's beam, face blank.

Then the light found "Lifeson", and Leon finally remembered why he'd looked and sounded so familiar. His face was still scruffy, the brown mane longer from how he remembered it, but dressed in a work jacket, flannel, and blue jeans, Leon now knew who this man was.

"Wait a minute. He called you Sammy...as in Sam Winchester?"

Sam's eyes widened, and he began to ask, "How do you—?" Then his jaw dropped in recognition of this one-time acquaintance met over a dark bar so many years ago.

"Leon!?


End file.
